This project seeks to restructure an old block of porch-access flats in Amsterdam's Geuzenveld district as an entirely new flexible structure within which the stock of dwelling types can be gradually transformed. At first, the flats will accommodate the large families living there now. Next in line are homes for first-time buyers. In the final stage, the block will be transformed into up-market owner-occupied properties.

In previous years Amsterdam's ethnic minority groups have contributed to the amenities and ambience in the 19th- and early 20th-century districts. First-time buyers in the housing market, despite their preference for heterogeneous central-city environments, often opt for these more outlying homogeneous 'multicultural' districts due to their relatively favourable position and the attractive residential setting. Hence these neighbourhoods are by degrees changing into first-home buyers' environments, forcing economically disadvantaged groups out to the cheap stock in the periphery. The next stage is that the periphery is radically restructured to attract more well-to-do residents. This operation displaces the economically disadvantaged segment to the following stock of cheap housing.

At present, the ethnic communities are setting up commercial enterprises in Amsterdam's 'Western garden suburbs' (of which Geuzenveld is one), having created a fine-meshed network of amenities over the years. Accommodating this entrepreneurial urge not only offers this go-it-alone group a perspective but can once again give rise to attractive habitats for new residents. In that case, gentrification will repeat itself here too. This project takes account of this social pressure. In restructuring an existing porch-access block, the proposal not only accommodates the potential of those already living there but looks ahead to the future influx of affluent home seekers, in other words to the arrival of capital.

A main thoroughfare (Burgemeester Roëllstraat) has been demolished, leaving a neutral public zone, 'De Geuzenbaan'. The housing block's communal outdoor area and access to individual dwellings lie along this zone. On the other side of the block, in the fringe area bordering on a small neighbourhood, is a strip of cheap retail premises. These two dissimilar 'fronts' acts as anchors for the new and old residents.

At the moment, the blocks in Geuzenveld contain not only dwellings but also shops and home-based commercial activities. The first step is to add spacious stair halls, lifts and short corridors. These together with the old porches present a stepped, differentiated access to living and working quarters. The old porches will ultimately be incorporated in the owner-occupied units.

The house's new structure is inspired by the Italian house in Ettore Scola's film 'La Famiglia'. All the rooms in this house open onto a long corridor around which family life revolves. This typology transforms a rigid layout in bays into a spatially appealing and flexible structure able to accept units in a wide range of formats which in turn can be simply divided into domains. The first stage is large units with many bedrooms. Turkish and Moroccan residents in particular set great store in being able to enlarge their house. To satisfy this need, units alternate with so-called 'do-it-yourself bays'. A DIY bay can be added onto a dwelling unit without difficulty and is cheap to rent. Their position alongside the new stair halls makes them ideal as business premises. The next stage is to split units and DIY bays into homes for first-time buyers. Lastly, apartments, porches and upper storeys can be combined into capacious up-market single-family dwellings. The broad central route now strings together large open kitchens, living rooms, enclosed workspaces and bedrooms. The old, functionally fixed porch-access apartments are then fully transformed into flexible dwellings with generically usable spaces.

The 'base building' is renovated by the property-owner, the infill being the renters' responsibility. This keeps rents down and allows occupants to divide up their home as they see fit. Large steel balconies can be made to order and attached using a recently developed suspension system. These may then present a new pattern alongside that of the satellite dishes, depending on renters' wishes and their willingness to invest. For the transformation into first-time buyers' homes, the rent is adjusted to the standard minimum and the block sold in five units. Data released by NVM, the foremost Dutch association of real estate brokers and experts, shows that the market value of real estate in a neighbourhood rises significantly once this has been discovered by high-income groups. I researched the plan's feasibility for a number of variants. Different scenarios took into account the consequences of occupants' lack of interest in 'doing it themselves', the pace of house price appreciation and the speed of the transformation process itself. The design for a gradual transformation proved feasible at the very least, presenting a plausible scenario for gradually transforming these neighbourhoods.

Place of education: AvB Amsterdam
Specialization: architecture
Tutors: Joost Hovenier, Bas Liesker, Maurits de Hoog